This invention relates to a method for the automatic identification of a type of vehicle on a test stand. In this context, “type of vehicle” thereby also means the body of a vehicle, or a car body type for short.
The ability to specify nominal values and tolerances is an important requirement for the automatic servicing of a vehicle. These parameters include, for example, the specified tire pressure and the allowable tolerance. Automatic test stands such as those for tire pressure, for example, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,817 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,020.
EP 1 327 872 A2 describes an apparatus for the determination of the internal pressure of a tire, in particular of vehicle tires, whereby this apparatus has a measurement unit, an electronic evaluation system and an optical-acoustic display unit. The invention teaches that the measurement unit is located on each vehicle track and has electro-mechanical means with a downstream signal converter. The internal tire pressure is thereby determined on the basis of the tire contact area by means of mathematical formulas, technical data on tire types and empirical values of physical characteristics, whereby these values are processed in a host computer. Using the formulas stored in the host computer, the tire contact area is calculated by means of the tire width and rolling surface and is then plotted graphically. The result is reliable information on the current internal tire pressure, although the information obtained is not the result of a precise and accurate measurement but only information that is sufficient to inform the vehicle driver of any overpressure, underpressure or normal pressure in the vehicle tires.
The object of the invention is therefore to make available a method for the automatic identification of a type of vehicle on a test stand so that the default settings for nominal values and tolerances can be made automatically.